MADISON, Wisc. – What a slap in the face for democracy.

The results of June’s gubernatorial recall election were correctly interpreted as a public endorsement of Act 10, Gov. Scott Walker’s law that reined in collective bargaining privileges for Wisconsin public employee unions.

The unions framed the election as a referendum on the law, and the people gave them an answer they didn’t like.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

The debate should have stopped there.

But the unions have no respect for the will of the people. When their recall effort failed, they simply went shopping for a politically-friendly judge to overturn Act 10. They found one in Dane County, the most liberal, Democratic community in the state. He ruled Friday that Act 10 somehow violates the state and federal constitutions and declared it null and void.

This decision has nothing to do with constitutional law and everything to do with partisan politics. Our courts and the judges that preside over them have become little more than water carriers for the special interests that support them politically.

The state and federal constitutions are loosely worded and can be interpreted many different ways, particularly by judges digging for justification for purely political decisions. We believe that’s precisely what Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas did on Friday.

For anyone who needs proof that the courts are no more than an extension of partisan politics, just wait. This decision will be challenged in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has a slightly conservative majority. Changes are good that the ruling justices will follow their own political instincts and restore the law in full.

Enough of this silly game. The people elect governors and legislators to make the laws. Their decisions should be final until future elected leaders decide to change course, or there is a clear, compelling constitutional reason for the courts to intervene.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

There was no compelling reason in this instance. Collective bargaining for public employees is not a right. Nothing of the sort is established in the Wisconsin or U.S. constitutions. Collective bargaining privileges were granted by government and can be taken away by government. That’s as far as this argument should go.

In the meantime, hundreds of public school districts across Wisconsin are left in limbo. They have saved hundreds of millions of dollars in labor expenses since the enactment of Act 10. Now they may be once again at the financial mercy of angry union leaders who don’t care about the health of school budgets or the ability of districts to deliver services to students.